NCJ Number
103970
Journal
International Journal of Law and Psychiatry Volume: 8 Issue: 2 Dated: (1986) Pages: 161-188
Date Published
1986
Length
24 pages
Annotation
The increased use of court-appointed experts and assessors would help address some of the basic problems currently involved in the use of expert witnesses in Australian courts.
Abstract
Using expert witnesses involves the chance that the jury will place undue credence in a particularly articulate witness, the frustration that experts feel in trying to communicate their expertise, and the possibility that each side will withhold crucial evidence out of fear of cross-examination. The potential for bias, the selection process used for expert witnesses, and the inherent complexity of the subject matter also represents problems in the use of expert testimony in the adversarial system. However, several cases indicate the courts' recognition of their power to appoint their own expert witnesses. Some jurisdictions also allow the use of assessors, who give judges advice and answer questions in private. The possibility that a court-appointed expert will exert undue influence on the jury is always real. Thus, court experts should be used only in exceptional circumstances, as already required by Australian and British Common Law. Routinely admitting experts' reports into evidence, using assessors to ask questions of expert witnesses, and having experts testify as part of a group would all be ways of helping judges and juries understand and assess expert evidence without producing undue influence. 115 footnotes.